The Batman: Finding Hope Beyond the Anger

    Image Credit: DrawingsbyNad on ArtStation

    Growing up I always loved comic books. Stories about heroes overcoming challenges that seemed insurmountable fired my young imagination with ideas of what could be possible in life through fighting to do the right thing. As a result of my angsty youth, my favorite hero has always been Batman. Reading about a normal man who became a hero with no powers besides sheer determination spoke to the ideals of self improvement and personal determination that I find profound. For a long time, I saw Batman as something that was part of my childhood with The Dark Knight being one that stood as my favorite interpretation of Batman, indeed it was my favorite superhero movie, for nearly 13 years. All that changed when I sat down last year to watch Matt Reeves' The Batman.

    The setting of The Batman is Gotham City. a corrupt, dank city wracked by crime and bureaucratic failure. The movie opens with an angry and vengeful Batman investigate killings perpetrated by the masked killer called the Riddler. His investigation forces him to uncover truths about himself, the rotten core of the city, and the role he has to play in saving his city.

    Robert Pattinson's arc for Batman/Bruce Wayne in this movie strikes at the core of my own growth and the essence of what Batman is meant to be. He learns how his anger and the fear perpetrated by him has failed and that he must inspire change in the populace by being a symbol of hope for them against the darkness around them.

    The scene which shows the culmination of this arc is one in which Batman leads the frightened populace out of the rubble using a flare, literally leading the way into a brighter future. This final moment, inspiring hope in the citizens of Gotham and lead them, is what makes this the quintessential Batman. The stories of Batman which are at his best is when we see a man who feels anger and sorrow, but allows his hope that things will get better keep him from going too far or turning his back on his ideals. That is the lesson we should all take.  

    For years I felt like Pattinson's Batman. I was angry at the world and felt that my anger was the only thing that gave me strength. I thought that relying on others was unhelpful. Hope, and the choice to fight for the better rather than simply fighting is one I have been trying to emulate in recent years. Nothing you succeed in matters if you leave your community and loved ones behind. Instead we must all look beyond our anger to find the hope for the future and light the way out of the darkness.